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Water drops from military aircraft douse some Russia fires

Published Sun Aug 04 2019 14:49:10 GMT+0000 (UTC)

by Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's military says its aircraft dropped more than 1,200 metric tons of water (1,300 short tons) in a single day on wildfires in Siberia and made some progress in extinguishing the vast blazes.

The Russian armed forces said the water from military planes and helicopters doused flames in about 1700 square kilometers (650 square miles) of the Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk regions on Sunday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered military personnel last week to join the fight against forest fires in Siberia and the Far East that together involved territory about the size of Belgium.

This satellite image provided by Roscosmos Space Agency, taken on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019, shows forest fires in Irkutsk region, Eastern Russia. Hundreds of Russian towns and cities are shrouded in heavy smoke from wildfires in Siberia and the Far East Thursday, and the blazes appear to be spreading in remote terrain. (Roscosmos Space Agency via AP)In this photo provided by Ministry of Emergency Situations of Krasnoyarsk Region on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019, Emergency Situations employee dig a trench to prevent a fire in a forest in Krasnoyarsk Region, Eastern Russia. The head of Russia's meteorological service says he sees global climate change as a factor behind the wildfires blazing throughout Siberia and the country's Far East. (Ministry of Emergency Situations of Krasnoyarsk Region via AP)This photo taken on Monday, July 29, 2019 and released by Press Service of the Ministry of Forestry of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, shows an air view of a forest fire in the Boguchansk district of the Krasnoyarsk region, Russia Far East. Hundreds of Russian towns and cities are shrouded in heavy smoke from wildfires in Siberia and the Far East Thursday, and the blazes appear to be spreading in remote terrain. (Maria Khlystunova, Press Service of the Ministry of Forestry of the Krasnoyarsk Territory via AP)This photo taken on Monday, July 29, 2019 and released by Press Service of the Ministry of Forestry of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, shows a firefighter fighting a fire in a forest in the Boguchansk district of the Krasnoyarsk region, Russia Far East. Hundreds of Russian towns and cities are shrouded in heavy smoke from wildfires in Siberia and the Far East Thursday, and the blazes appear to be spreading in remote terrain. (Maria Khlystunova, Press Service of the Ministry of Forestry of the Krasnoyarsk Territory via AP)In this photo provided by Ministry of Emergency Situations of Krasnoyarsk Region on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019, a fire in a forest in Krasnoyarsk Region, Eastern Russia. The head of Russia's meteorological service says he sees global climate change as a factor behind the wildfires blazing throughout Siberia and the country's Far East. (Ministry of Emergency Situations of Krasnoyarsk Region via AP)A woman poses for a photo with heavy smoke covering the center of the eastern Siberian city of Chita, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019. Hundreds of Russian towns and cities are shrouded in heavy smoke from wildfires in Siberia and the Far East Thursday, and the blazes appear to be spreading in remote terrain. (AP Photo/Yevgeny Yepachintsev)